# Arrows, boxes and spotlights, right on the video

> Draw arrows, lines, boxes, highlights, spotlights, blurs, text and numbered steps on screen recordings, timed to the moment and riding every zoom. Free for Mac.

*Source: https://lumae.app/features/annotations.md. This page in HTML: https://lumae.app/features/annotations.*

Pause on a frame, press A, and draw with the same tools as the screenshot editor. Your marks fade in and out with their block on the timeline, and they ride every zoom with the picture.

## How it works

1. **Press A on the frame.** Move the playhead onto a recording or a picture and press A. The player pauses and the Arrow tool is ready.
2. **Draw your marks.** Drag to draw, and switch tools from the bar or by key: V, A, L, R, O, H, S, B, T and N. Hold Shift to keep a line or an arrow level, upright or at 45°. The first mark makes a 3-second block on the Annotations lane.
3. **Time the block.** Press Return when you're done. Trim the block, split it with ⌘B so marks appear one after another, and set its fades on its page.

## What you can change

- **Tools:** Select, Arrow, Line, Rectangle, Ellipse, Highlight, Spotlight, Blur, Text and Number.
- **Colour:** Ten colours, from Red to White. The last one you used is remembered in both editors.
- **Size:** Small, Medium, Large, X-Large or Huge, for lines from 2 to 16 pt.
- **Fade in, Fade out:** On the block's page, 0.2 s each by default.
- **Spotlight:** Dims everything outside its box to 55 % black.
- **Blur:** A coarse mosaic that stays at full strength for the whole block.

## The numbers

- **How long a block's marks take to fade in and out:** 0.2 s
- **How dark a spotlight makes everything outside its box:** 55 %
- **Colours to mark with:** 10
- **Kinds of mark, from arrows to numbered steps:** 9
- **Length of a new block, starting 0.2 s before the playhead:** 3 s
- **Line weight from Small to Huge:** 2 to 16 pt

## Questions

### Do marks follow something that moves in my recording?

No. A mark stays on the same spot of the picture for its block. It moves with Lumae's own zoom and crop, but it doesn't track motion inside the recording.

### Can marks appear one after another?

Yes. Split the block with ⌘B and add the next mark to the second half.

### Can I annotate a title card?

No. Annotations go on recordings and pictures. For words between clips, use a [title card](https://lumae.app/features/titles).

### Is a blurred area ever readable?

No. The blur is a coarse mosaic that cuts in and out at full strength, ignoring the block's fades.

## Related

- [Screenshots](https://lumae.app/features/screenshots.md): Capture, then mark up with arrows, boxes, steps and blur.
- [Title cards](https://lumae.app/features/titles.md): Title cards that reveal by line, word or letter.
- [Automatic zoom](https://lumae.app/features/automatic-zoom.md): Zooms placed from your clicks, every one editable.